Hotel Nueva Isla
Project information
| Talent | Irene Gutierrez |
| Role of participant | Director, scriptwriter, executive producer, sound recorder |
| Director | Irene Gutiérrez |
| Producer | José Alayón, Claudia Calviño |
| Screenwriter | Irene Gutiérrez, Javier Labrador, Lorenzo Mora |
| Status | finished |
Production details
| Running time | 71 min | ||
| Genre | Documentary (Hybrid) | ||
| Year of production | 2014 | ||
| Countries of Production | Cuba , Spain | ||
| Production Companies |
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| Website | http://www.hotelnuevaisla2015.com |
Logline
Despite the building's imminent collapse, the last inhabitant of a once luxurious hotel refuses to leave: he remains convinced that treasures, hidden by the hotel's original owners, lie waiting within its walls.
Synopsis
In the early twentieth century, the “Hotel Nueva Isla” used to be anemblematic luxury hotel, which after the Cuban Revolution was confiscated by
the State and become a shelter for homeless people. Located in a
neighborhood in Old Havana, today it has become imposing ruins of
particular instability. The building has become increasingly difficult to
live in, a shelter for people living on the margins of society. Jorge is a
retired clerk, one of the few that remain there, a taciturn and mysterious
character mostly accompanied by his dog. But as the neighbors go marching
to safer places, Jorge keeps clinging to his roots.
With real characters who were once the very residents of the hotel, the
little rituals and the enigmatic routines of a man who does not make clear
if he pretends to anarchically destroy the building or to perpetuate it and
its stories, were captured. The film talks about a generation that fought in
the Revolution, who dreamed of a utopia and a better society and ultimately
could not come to what they hoped to build.
Participation in international festivals / awards
- Screened as part of the MoMA Documentary Fortnight (USA).- Winner, New Orleans Film Festival (USA), Best Documentary Award.
- Winner, Jeonju Film Festival (South Korea), Special Jury Prize.
- Winner, Cali International Film Festival (Colombia), Best Film Award.
- Winner, Docs DF (Mexico), Best Ibero American Documentary Award.
- Winner, Miradas Doc (Spain), Best Documentary Award.
- Winner, RDoc (Dominican Republic), Best Documentary Award.
- Winner, Young Cuban Cinema Showcase (Cuba), Special Jury Prize.
- Winner, Cinetekton Cinema & Architecture FF (Mexico), Best Documentary Award.
- Winner, Austin Cine Las Américas Film Festival (USA), Special Jury Prize.
- Miami IFF (USA) Ex-aequo Award to the Cuban Independent Cinema.
- Ânûû-rû Âboro IFF (New Caledonia), Special Jury Prize.
- Trinidad & Tobago International Film Festival (T&T), Jury Special Mention.
- Rotterdam Film Festival (Netherlands), Nomination FIPRESCI Award.
Trailer/Teaser
Cast
| Main character | Jorge de los Ríos |
Crew
| Cinematographer and scriptwriter | Javier Labrador |
| Editor | Lorenzo Mora |
| Producer | José A. Alayón |
| Producer | Claudia Calviño |
| Sound editing and mixing | Carlos garcía |
| Sound recorder | Irene Gutiérrez |
Sales
| Name | José Alayón |
| Company | El Viaje Films |
| www.elviaje.es |